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Charges: Man's crime spree spanned Woodbury, Pierce County

Stolen cars from two states, one high-speed chase and a burglary led to a host of felony charges for a Beldenville man this week in Pierce County Circuit Court.

Prosecutors allege 20-year-old Joshua J. Reeverts ditched a car stolen from Woodbury in a Pierce County field before burglarizing a rural River Falls home, where he allegedly swiped keys to a Cadillac. He then allegedly stole the Cadillac and drove it until it was spotted by authorities in Ellsworth.

Reeverts then allegedly led officers on a pursuit that reached 110 mph before spike strips brought the incident to a halt in the town of River Falls.

Reeverts appeared in court Tuesday, May 2, on one count of burglary, two counts of operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent and one count of attempting to flee a traffic officer — all felonies. He’s also charged with misdemeanor OWI-second offense, operating while revoked and bail jumping.

Cash bond for Reeverts’ release was set at $1,000.

According to a criminal complaint:

Pierce County deputies took a report at 7:53 p.m. April 28 of a stolen car found at N4175 610th St. in the town of Ellsworth. Officers found a Dodge Magnum reported stolen from Woodbury at the property. It was later confirmed the car belonged to a Cottage Grove man and that it was suspected in a hit-and-run crash in the east metro. Deputies noted the car had extensive damage.

Less than an hour later, a town of Ellsworth resident on 450th Avenue reported his 2014 Cadillac SRX was missing. The resident said he got home and noticed all three doors on his unlocked home were open and his car was gone. A set of keys for the Cadillac left on a table were missing along with his flip phone, the man reported.

Deputies, who had been alerted to Reeverts as a possible suspect, alerted other agencies to the missing Cadillac.

Police spotted the car at 9:35 p.m. near Beldenville and attempted to stop it. The Cadillac led officers, including a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper, on a pursuit where speeds reached 110 mph.

The Cadillac drove over spike strips on Highway 65 at Cemetery Road in River Falls. The car continued onto Highway 29, where it went off the road near 900th Street.

The driver, identified as Reeverts, told authorities he’d been a crash earlier in the day and sought medical attention.

Deputies searched the Cadillac and turned up several items, including the missing flip phone, a key fob for a Dodge vehicle, suspected marijuana paraphernalia and an “I voted” sticker found under the seat. The car’s owner said neither the paraphernalia nor the sticker were his. Officers later confirmed the key fob belonged to the Dodge Magnum.

The Cadillac owner later reported finding a smartphone on his property that officers confiscated. They also made note of several phone calls found on the flip phone’s call history that the Cadillac owner didn’t recognize.

In an interview with a Pierce County sergeant, Reeverts admitted the pursuit began after the sight of flashing police lights “panicked” him. He told the officer he had been in search of a ride earlier that night and visited the town of Ellsworth house. He said he left in the Cadillac after realizing no one was home.

Reeverts told the officer he was forced to steal the Dodge Magnum at gunpoint by another man in Woodbury. He also made reference to smoking meth and pot, which prompted field sobriety tests that the sergeant said suggested impairment.

The next day the officer reviewed body camera footage from his interview with Reeverts. The recording revealed Reeverts made “a statement to the effect of I’d rather have my lawyer here because I don’t know how to answer these questions.” That statement wasn’t noticed at the time of the interview, the sergeant noted in his report.

The Washington (Minn.) County Attorney’s Office said Thursday that there were no pending charges against Reeverts there.

He is scheduled to return to court in Pierce County May 9 for a preliminary hearing.

Mike Longaecker is the regional public safety reporter for RiverTown Multimedia. His coverage area spans St. Croix and Pierce counties. Longaecker served from 2011-2015 as editor of the Woodbury Bulletin. A University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate, Longaecker previously reported for the Red Wing Republican Eagle and for the Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau. You can follow him on Twitter at @Longaecker